A climbing robot of this generic type can be used, for example, in wind turbines in order to climb up and down the mast (also referred to as a tower), for example for maintenance-related purposes. According to the invention, however, the application is not limited to wind turbines and their masts. Rather, a climbing robot according to the invention can climb any mast, regardless of what is supported by the mast and what type of mast it is.
The maintenance dock, which will be described further below, can also be used in one possible application in order to perform maintenance on wind turbines, particularly on their rotor blades. Here as well, however, the application is not limited to wind turbines. Rather, any device, particularly any device supported by masts, can be maintained by a maintenance dock as described below.
Insofar as the application of the invention is described in the following with respect to a climbing robot and maintenance dock using the example of a wind turbine, this must not be understood as a limitation, but rather only as an example of one possible application among many possible ones.
Wind turbines have become an important component of our power supply. Like all other technologies (for example aviation, astronautics, automobile, etc.), wind-power technology is subject to certain regulations with respect to development, production, operation and maintenance.
Such regulations place special emphasis on safe operation and safe maintenance. Particularly noteworthy in this context are the periodic inspections of the rotor blades and of the wind towers (masts). The same or similar requirements also apply to other types of systems. To enable these inspections to be conducted, the industry needs certain systems that meet all of the requirements ranging from functional safety to the of maintenance as a complete solution.
The demand for economy and technology entails performing as many work steps as possible in a single operation at the site of operation in a cost-effective, fast, precise and safe manner. To this end, the tools required for this today have not been suitable for such on-site use. Our aim with this solution is to meet precisely these requirements with this climbing robot.
The requirement of the periodic inspection of the rotor blades is not limited merely to remedying visible damage, but rather to recognize, evaluate and remedy, as needed, all structural changes such as cracks or delamination under the (paint) surface as well so that safe operation can be ensured until the next inspection. In order to fulfill these requirements, work conditions must be created that enable the use of suitable testing and repair methods (NDT, ZFP etc.). In doing so, it is important to create work conditions on the wind turbines that enable the many work steps that are currently carried out in a repair workshop to be carried out on site in an expedient manner independently of the weather conditions.
Today, it is possible neither to perform Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) nor a rotor blade repair completely on the wind turbine. However, in order to deal with the cost pressure of the operators of wind turbines within an economically efficient range, it is essential to minimize down time. That can only be achieved with a comprehensive solution for inspection and repair on the wind turbines.
However, the periodically required inspection of rotor blades or of wind power towers per DIN EN 61400-23 (VDE 0127-23) requires a complete examination of the rotor for additional damage that may occur as a result of production or dynamic loading and oftentimes through operational vibration. Performing NDT on the rotor blade turns out to be quite difficult but, as described in the dissertation of Dr.-Dipl.-Geophys. Anne Jüngert, there are possibilities for performing NDT on the blade.
A climbing robot of the generic type cited at the outset is known, for example, from the publication DE 10 2005 053 782. The clamp is formed here by traverses that can be moved opposite each other and pressed with their clamping brackets or jaws at several places against the mast surface in order to generate adhesive forces between climbing robot and mast.
It must be viewed as a drawback here that the climbing robot can only be used in areas in which there are certain prescribed mast diameters and would otherwise have to have its dimensions reworked, and that the retaining forces are applied in this case with only four clamping brackets or jaws arranged around the periphery of a mast.